Shuttle box



Oct. 1, 1968 G] A. SUNDQUIST, JR 3,403,708

SHUTTLE BOX Filed Sept. 22, 1966 INVENTOR GUSTAF A. SUNDQUIST JR.

ATTORNEY United States Patent ice 3,403,708 SHUTTLE BOX Gustaf A.Sundquist, Jr., Brookfield, Mass., assignor to Crompton & KnowlesCorporation, Worcester, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts FiledSept. 22, 1966, Ser. No. 581,221 7 Claims. (Cl. 139-183) ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE A shuttle box means for checking a shuttle comprising a rigidbase, a resilient sponge-like element, an elongated rigid memberfloatingly supported by the resilient element and a frictional coveringmember encompassing the rigid member and the resilient means.

This invention, in general, relates to improvements in shuttle boxes forlooms and more particularly relates to improvements in shuttle checkingmeans to bring the shuttle to a gradual but certain stop withoutdamaging the shuttle.

Conventional looms employ at least one shuttle box at each end of areciprocating lay across which a shuttle is propelled at a very highvelocity during the Weaving process. Upon completion of a flight acrossthe lay it is of paramount importance to stop or check the travel of theshuttle in the box in a manner to avoid stopping the shuttle so abruptlyas to damage the shuttle or to cause so-called slough-off of the fillingon the bobbin in the shuttle. T o assist in stopping or checking theshuttle, the box is usually equipped with one or more walls that arecovered with a friction material such as leather. One or more of thesewalls are usually resiliently supported and the walls are cammed apartby the shuttle, which is wider than the space between the walls. Thefriction material thus exerts a braking force on the sides of theshuttle to check or stop its travel gradually but surely withoutdamaging the shuttle or sloughing-off the filling.

One such checking means which has been very successful in practice isillustrated in US. Patent No. 3,096,794, granted to Clarence R. Kronotl.This patent discloses the use of a shuttle checking member whichcomprises a rigid body with a layer of a resilient material attached toone side of it and a layer of a friction material such as leather whichencompasses the resilient material and the end portions of the rigidbody. The body is then located in the shuttle box in a position whereentry of the shuttle into the box compresses the resilient layer throughthe friction material. Thus, the resilient material exerts a uniformpressure on the shuttle throughout the length of the member. While thiswas felt to be desirable at first it has been found deleterious in usageover a long period of time due to the fact that the thin walls of theshuttle are deformed by the pressure necessary to ensure proper checkingof the shuttle to the end that the shuttle walls become permanentlybowed, eventually to the extent that the shuttle walls interfere withthe unwinding of filling from the bobbin during weaving. Accordingly,the bowed shuttles become unsatisfactory and must be discarded. Thiscondition is illustrated in FIGURE A of the drawings.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a shuttle boxequipped with resilient means for checking the flight of the shuttleWithout distorting or bowing the shuttle.

Another object of the invention is to provide a shuttle box equippedwith a binder covered with a resilient material for checking the flightof the shuttle Without distorting or bowing the shuttle.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a 3,403,708 PatentedOct 1, 1968 shuttle box equipped with a box front covered witharesilient material for checking the flight of the shuttle withoutdistorting or bowing the shuttle.

In order that the invention may be clearly understood reference is madeto the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE A illustrates the prior art shuttle box and shows the'deformationor bowing of the shuttle caused by such prior art shuttle boxes.

FIGURE 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of the box 0 the drive end or righthand side of the loom embodiying the invention; and

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view of the box taken on line 22 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE A illustrates diagrammatically the shuttle box of the Kronoffpatent, supra, and the bowing of the shuttle caused by its checkingdevice. As explained above, the pressure exerted by the resilientmaterial R on the shuttle S through the friction material F is uniformfor a given degree of compression. Thus, the force exerted by resilientmeans 'M on the thick portions A will not distort these portions due tothe rigidity of these portions. However, the walls W are too thin tocompress the resilient material R to the same degree that portions A doand the Walls bow inwardly as seen in the Prior Art Figure. This bowbecomes progressively worse during the life of the shuttle because theinitial bow 'becomes set and thus offers even less resistance to thepressure exerted on it by the resilient means, thereby resulting infurther bowing until the walls of the shuttle becomes so bowed as tointerfere with the unwinding of filling yarn from the shuttle bobbin.

The invention overcomes this defect of the Kronoff shuttle box byproviding a rigid member between the resilient material and the frictionmaterial to transmit the force exerted by the resilient material along aline that is substanially parallel to the centerline of the shuttle whenthe shuttle is properly boxed. This insures that a distorting force willnot be applied to the thin shuttle walls.

Referring now to FIGURE 1 which shows diagrammatically a shuttle box 10having a binder 12 and a box front 14 which are covered in accordancewith the invention. Further details of the means for supporting thebinder are shown in the Kronoff patent, supra, which is incorporatedherein for such known structure. Since the present invention is notlimited to any specific means for supporting the binders and box frontsit would be useless to go into such mechanisms in greater detail.

As seen in the Kronoff patent and in that instant FIG- URE 1, binder 12is supported by pivoted linkages 13, 13'. These linkages pivotallysupport the binder by means of pivots 16, 16'. The other ends of thelinkages are pivotally supported by pivots 18, 18 on the box frame 19.It will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that frictiongenerated between the binder surface 26 and the shuttle S will cause thebinder to exert additional pressure on the shuttle as it moves into thebox and less as it moves out of the box during picking due to thepivoted supporting arrangement of linkages 13, 13.

As readily seen in FIGURE 1 box front 14 is adjustably mounted on thebox frame 19 by means of the usual screws 15, 15' to permit adjustmentof the shuttle box for different shuttles.

The binder and the box front shown in FIGURES 1 and 2 may be coveredwith a resilient material to assist in checking the flight of theshuttle. Since this covering is the same, whether on the binder or thebox front it will be described in detail with reference to the binderwith similar parts of the box front being identified by the samereference characters with primes added.

Binder 12 comprises an elongated rigid body 20, a

layer of resilient material 22 abutting one surface of the body, anelongated rigid member 24 which is floatingly supported by the resilientmaterial. Encompassing rigid member 24, resilient material 22, and atleast a portion of body 20, is a layer of friction material 26, the endsof which are secured to the backside of body 20 by suitable means suchas screws 30. The floating arrangement of member 24 permits it to movelongitudinally relatively to body 20 but more importantly, does notpermit member 24 to exert any force on its own as would be the case ifmember 24 was fixed to said body at one end in a cantilever fashion.

Layer 22 may comprise any resilient material, such as foam rubber,natural or synthetic, that is capable of expanding to its originalthickness after being compressed. Other resilient materials such as thatshown in the Kronoff patent may be used instead of a foamed material,the particular form and composition of this layer not being critical andone skilled in the art may readily select any ma-* terial whichpossesses the requisite resiliency.

Layer 24 may be formed of any rigid material such as metals, wood,plastics, and the like, with requisite rigidity to distribute the forcesexerted by the resilient material along a line that is substantiallyparallel to the centerline of the shuttle when it is properly boxed,thereby avoiding the exertion of undue force on the thin walls of theshuttle. Aluminum has been found to possess the necessary rigidity andhas the added advantage of being very light in weight.

Friction material 26 may comprise a leather strip or a strip of anyother flexible material with the requisite strength and frictioncharacteristics and can be readily selected from available materials bythe artisan.

Layer 22 may be bonded to body 20 and to rigid member 24 if desired tofacilitate assembly but this is not necessary to the operation of thebinder. From the foregoing description it will be appreciated that theinvention offers a simple solution to a difiicult problem. While thisdescription has been restricted to a single embodiment of the invention,various changes and variations will occur to those skilled in the artwhich may be made within the scope of the appended claims withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a shuttle box for looms having means for checking the shuttle,said means comprising:

(a) an elongated rigid body;

(b) resilient means abutting one surface of said rigid (c) an elongatedrigid member floatingly supported by said resilient means to permit saidmember to move longitudinally, relative to said rigid body;

((1) frictional means encompassing said rigid member, said resilientmeans, and a portion of said body whereby said frictional means adjacentsaid shuttle is substantially parallel to the centerline of said shuttlewhen said shuttle is in saidbox.

2. In a shuttle box as set forth in claim 1 wherein said resilient meansis a binder.

3. In a shuttle box as set worth in claim 1 wherein said resilient meansis the box front.

4. In a shuttle box as set forth in claim 1 wherein said resilient meanscomprises the binder and the box front.

5. In a shuttle box as set forth in claim 1 wherein said frictionalmeans is bonded to said rigid member.

6. In a shuttle box as set forth in claim 1 wherein resilient means isan elastomeric material. 7

7. In a shuttle box as set forth in claim 6 wherein said elastomericmaterial is bonded to said body.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 820,661 5/1906 Mills 139-l861,585,539 5/1926 Demers 139185 2,111,962 3/1938 Brown l39185 2,120,1446/1938 Emmons 139185 3,258,036 6/1966 Butler 139185 MERVIN STEIN,Primary Examiner.

J. KEE CHI, Assistant Examiner.

